NTP (Network Time Protocol)

RouterOS includes a full NTP implementation (RFC 5905) available since v6.14. The router can act as an NTP client (syncing its own clock to upstream servers) and as an NTP server (distributing time to LAN devices). Use only one synchronization method at a time — NTP client, SNTP client (v6 legacy), or manual clock.

Sub-menus

Sub-menu	Purpose
`/system/ntp/client`	NTP client (v7)
`/system/ntp/server`	NTP server (v7)
`/system/clock`	Timezone and manual clock settings
`/system ntp client`	SNTP client (v6 legacy)

Timezone Configuration

Set the timezone before enabling NTP so that wall-clock times are correct as soon as the clock syncs.

Properties

Property	Description
`time-zone-name`	IANA timezone name (e.g. `America/New_York`, `Europe/London`)
`time-zone-autodetect`	Let RouterOS detect timezone automatically (yes/no)
`gmt-offset`	Manual UTC offset — only active when `time-zone-name` is not set and autodetect is off

Configure timezone

/system/clock/set time-zone-autodetect=no time-zone-name=America/New_York
/system/clock/print

Example output:

         time: 14:32:07
         date: mar/22/2026
   time-zone-name: America/New_York
      gmt-offset: -05:00

NTP Client (RouterOS v7)

The v7 NTP client supports DNS hostnames directly — entries are re-resolved automatically. DNS must be working on the router for pool hostnames to resolve.

Prerequisite: DNS

Ensure the router has working DNS before using hostnames:

/ip/dns/set servers=1.1.1.1,8.8.8.8
/ip/dns/print

Client properties

Property	Default	Description
`enabled`	`no`	Enable NTP client
`mode`	`unicast`	Sync mode: `unicast`, `broadcast`, or `manycast`
`servers`	—	Comma-separated list of NTP server IPs or hostnames
`vrf`	`main`	VRF instance used for NTP connections

Configure client with pool servers

/system/ntp/client/set \
    enabled=yes \
    mode=unicast \
    servers=0.pool.ntp.org,1.pool.ntp.org,2.pool.ntp.org,3.pool.ntp.org

Using well-known vendor pools is also common:

/system/ntp/client/set \
    enabled=yes \
    mode=unicast \
    servers=time.google.com,time.cloudflare.com

Verify synchronization

/system/ntp/client/print

Key fields to check in print output:

Field	Meaning
`active-server`	IP of the server currently being used
`stratum`	Server’s stratum level (lower = closer to reference clock)
`last-adjustment`	Time of most recent clock correction
`poll-interval`	Current polling interval
`status`	`synchronized` when locked to a server

Example output:

      status: synchronized
active-server: 185.225.148.90
      stratum: 2
   poll-interval: 64s
last-adjustment: 2026-03-22 14:31:43

NTP Server (RouterOS v7)

Once the router’s clock is synchronized, it can serve time to LAN devices. The NTP server is disabled by default.

Server properties

Property	Default	Description
`enabled`	`no`	Enable NTP server
`broadcast`	`no`	Send periodic broadcast NTP announcements
`broadcast-addresses`	—	Broadcast destination addresses (e.g. `192.168.88.255`)
`manycast`	`no`	Enable manycast mode

Basic server (unicast, recommended)

Enable the server after the client is synchronized. LAN clients point to the router’s IP.

# 1) Ensure router is synced first
/system/ntp/client/set enabled=yes servers=0.pool.ntp.org,1.pool.ntp.org

# 2) Enable NTP server
/system/ntp/server/set enabled=yes

LAN clients then configure 192.168.88.1 (or the router’s LAN IP) as their NTP server.

Broadcast mode

The router periodically sends time to a broadcast address. Clients on the subnet receive updates without needing to poll.

/system/ntp/server/set \
    enabled=yes \
    broadcast=yes \
    broadcast-addresses=192.168.88.255

Manycast mode

Manycast uses a multicast group address. Clients that support manycast auto-discover the server.

/system/ntp/server/set \
    enabled=yes \
    manycast=yes

SNTP Client (RouterOS v6 Legacy)

The primary-ntp and secondary-ntp properties below are v6 only. They do not exist in RouterOS 7. On v7, use the servers property as shown in the sections above.

RouterOS v6 uses an SNTP-based client under the same /system ntp client path. Key differences from v7:

Supports unicast only
Requires IP addresses (not hostnames) for primary-ntp and secondary-ntp
No resolv-interval — DNS names are not supported directly

Configure SNTP client (v6)

Use IP addresses for your NTP servers (Cloudflare’s public NTP as an example):

/system ntp client set \
    enabled=yes \
    mode=unicast \
    primary-ntp=162.159.200.1 \
    secondary-ntp=162.159.200.123

Verify SNTP synchronization (v6)

/system ntp client print
/system ntp client monitor 0

Complete Setup Example

This example configures a router that syncs to internet NTP pools and serves time to its LAN.

# Step 1: Timezone
/system/clock/set time-zone-autodetect=no time-zone-name=America/Chicago

# Step 2: Ensure DNS is working
/ip/dns/set servers=1.1.1.1,8.8.8.8

# Step 3: NTP client (v7)
/system/ntp/client/set \
    enabled=yes \
    mode=unicast \
    servers=0.pool.ntp.org,1.pool.ntp.org,2.pool.ntp.org

# Step 4: NTP server for LAN
/system/ntp/server/set enabled=yes

# Step 5: Verify
/system/ntp/client/print
/system/clock/print

Troubleshooting

Clock not syncing:

Confirm DNS resolves pool hostnames: /ip/dns/cache/print
Check firewall — UDP port 123 outbound must be permitted
Verify status field in /system/ntp/client/print shows synchronized

Large time offset on first sync:

RouterOS will step the clock (immediate large correction) on first sync; subsequent corrections are slewed (gradual)

v6 SNTP not syncing:

SNTP requires IP addresses, not hostnames — resolve pool hostnames externally and use the IPs
Check primary-ntp and secondary-ntp are reachable: /tool/ping 162.159.200.1

Multiple sync methods active:

Only one method should be enabled at a time; disable SNTP if using v7 NTP client and vice versa